ADMIRABLE TEACHER

Zhou Lina， the only ethnic Han teacher at a bilingual kindergarten in Artux， northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， was honored with the title of Most Gracious Village Teacher in China along with nine other people on September 10 for their outstanding contributions.

Zhou， 47， was born and raised in northeast Chinas Liaoning Province. She and her Uygur husband， Nasrula Umar， met in 1993 in Shenyang， capital of Liaoning. In 2000， Zhou moved to her nowhusbands hometown， a township in Artux. Zhou was a full-time homemaker until 2006， when she was invited to be an entry-level Mandarin teacher at the central primary school in the township. She was appraised as an excellent teacher several times. In 2010， Zhou was awarded tenure and works at a nearby kindergarten. She and her husband have been providing assistance from their slender income to impoverished local students every month.

Old Cities on the Brink of Extinction

Oriental Outlook September 11

Recently， Qiqihar in northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province was designated a “national historical and cultural city.” By August 21， 125 cities had been awarded the title by the Central Government. However， experts say many of them have not lived up to their names.

Alarmingly， areas that exemplify the cultural atmosphere of these time-honored cities have been damaged or have disappeared. The list of “historical and cultural cities” on the verge of extinction jointly proposed by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2011 will be released later this year. Those famous locales that have not been wellpreserved or are seriously damaged will be included on the list as a warning.

The protection of cities of historical and cultural interest has once again come to a crossroads； the last time was during the “cultural revolution” （1966-76）， when multitudes of ancient architecture and artifacts were destroyed. However， some consider the situation to be even worse this time around as many local officials， driven by the pursuit of increasing GDP in their cities， view protection of historical relics as a hindrance to economic growth. Some even argue that even if the old buildings are preserved， they cannot represent the areas achievements.

In order to better protect old cities， local officials must change these misconceptions. They must know which artifacts and buildings should be preserved and how to promote a citys development by the culture passed down through it.

How Are Leading Officials Selected？

China Newsweek September 8

A revised regulation on the selection and appointment of leading officials of the Communist Party of China （CPC） and government agencies was published in the beginning of this year， marking the first revision since the original regulation was made 12 years ago. According to the new regulation， the convention of choosing leaders from reserve officials will be changed.

Training reserve officials was considered to be vital during the early 1980s， when capable civil servants were in severe shortage in China. In 1984， a list of reserve provincial- and ministerial-level officials， including around 1，100 people， was finalized. All members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the current and previous CPC Central Committees， Chinas top policy-makers， were on that list， with the exception of two.

Today， the importance of reserve officials is no longer as critical as it was in the 1980s. China is facing new challenges in selecting and appointing officials， as malpractices like under-the-counter dealings and corruption are often involved. President Xi Jinping has vowed to further reform the personnel system for public servants in order to address these problems and improve the public trust. The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee， which is mainly responsible for the system， is expected to be more transparent and open in its operations.

Equal Education Rights

Yangcheng Evening News September 9

September marks the start of a new semester in schools across China. It is estimated that around 60 million children countrywide will have to be left behind by migrant worker parents， and their education—particularly on the family side—will undoubtedly be negatively affected. Meanwhile， a growing number of children who travel with their parents to large cities are also facing problems.

Take the south coastal province of Guangdong， for example： At the end of 2013， the province had about 4.5 million migrant children under the age of 17. Most of them were from rural areas， making up one fifth of the pro- vincial population of minors.

Compared with those who are left behind， these children are at the very least able to live together with their parents， who are often too busy working to take care of them. Thus， these young people are easily harmed in big cities. The most serious problem they face， however， is that due to the lack of local hukou （household registration）， migrant children are unable to receive an education as good as their urban peers.

The pressing task now is for the government to adopt measures ensuring migrant childrens right to an education of equal quality. Given the huge migrant worker populations now inhabiting Chinese cities， a giant step forward is needed so that these rural minors can enjoy the same level of education as their peers in the cities that their parents have worked so hard to develop.

SEARCH ENGINE BOSS

Zhang Yaqin， a former top executive for Microsoft Corp. in China， was appointed president of Beijing-based Baidu Inc.， the worlds largest Chinese-language Internet search provider， on September 10. Zhang was born in 1966 in Taiyuan， north Chinas Shanxi Province. He was selected to study electrical engineering at age 12 at the prestigious China University of Science and Technology as part of a special program for gifted kids. At age 18， he began attending George Washington University， earning a Ph.D five years later. In 1997， he was honored as a Fellow with the U.S. Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers， becoming the youngest scientist to earn the title in the institutes history. Zhang also possesses over 60 U.S. patents.

The 48-year-old Microsoft veteran had been a corporate vice president and chairman of the companys Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group for more than a decade， controlling the companys largest research and technology incubator outside the United States.

Baidu Board Chairman and CEO Robin Li Yanhong said that he hopes Zhang will help Baidu edge into emerging fields with his rich technology expertise and service experience.

“Only with a clear idea of the nature and soul of Confucianism can it play a greater role in Chinas reform drive.”

Yang Chaoming， head of the Qufu-based Confucius Research Institute， at a seminar on the role of traditional culture in todays society held on September 6 in Qufu， east Chinas Shandong Province， the birthplace of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius

“First we need to clear up rights to reside， rights to run businesses， and residential ownership rights； then we can worry about gradually harmonizing the two-tiered registration system.”

Li Yining， a renowned Chinese economist， on Chinas urbanization process at the St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance on September 8

“What we cannot allow is undermining the countrys interests while doing business in this market and profiting from it.”

Lu Wei， Ministerr of the State Internet Information Office， elaborating on the Chinese Governments Internet management policy on September 9

“Treating China as an entirely non-market economy might have been a reasonable policy two or three decades ago， but its not a reasonable policy today.”

Nicholas Lardy， a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington， D.C.， commenting on the transformation of Chinas economy in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on September 10